Building with Cob - A Natural & Affordable Way to Build a House

Bryce from Dreamweavers Collective explains the benefits and challenges of building with cob!
Cob is a natural building material created from clay, sand, and straw that can be used to build load bearing walls, window and door frames, and much more.
It's an affordable and natural way to build using materials that are typically found locally. In fact, building with earth and natural fibres is a technique used in many places around the world. This style of construction can have different names, like earth building, adobe, mud bricks, etc.
Unlike conventional buildings, cob is a simple way to build that can be an interesting and easy option to build a DIY green home using little, if any, toxic materials.
Bryce teaches natural building and cob workshops in person and online. You can find out more about his courses on his website here:
www.dreamweaverscollective.org/
He calls himself a 3rd generation cobber because he learned cob building techniques from Pat Hennebery at Cobworks: www.cobworks.com/
And Pat learned about cob from Ianto Evans, Linda Smiley, and the rest of the team at The Cob Cottage Company: www.cobcottage.com/
We hope you enjoyed learning about this interesting, natural, affordable, and alternative building technique :) We think cob houses are incredible and beautiful structures!
Photos taken by Bryce and Kelly from Dreamweavers Collective.
Dome & arch photos taken at Arcosanti:
arcosanti.org/
The Cob Cottage and other cob houses built by Cobworks:
www.cobworks.com/
White cob cabin built by Terra Perma:
terraperma.ca/en/
Thanks for watching!
Mat & Danielle
Thank you to all of our Patrons who support us so generously and a very special thank you to our backbone supporters: The Burgess Family and Jakob Dannesboe!
-------------------------------------------------------------
STAY IN TOUCH!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Blog: www.exploringalternatives.ca
Facebook: /exploringalternativesblog
Instagram: @exploringalternatives
-------------------------------------------------------------
COMMENTS
-------------------------------------------------------------
We want our channel and our comments section to be an inclusive space where everyone feels welcome to watch and to contribute. For this reason, comments that are inappropriate or hateful will be reported and/or deleted.
Please discuss and debate with respect, and report inappropriate or hateful comments directly to KZbin.
-------------------------------------------------------------
SUBTITLES AND CLOSED CAPTIONS
-------------------------------------------------------------
A very special thank you to our subtitle and closed captions contributors!
If you would like to contribute subtitles or closed captions to an Exploring Alternatives video, please click here to see which ones need your help:
kzbin.info_cs_p...
To learn how to create and submit subtitles and closed captions, check out this KZbin info page:
support.google.com/youtube/an...
If you would like credit for your subtitles, translation, or closed captions in the description of the video, please email us with your full name, the language of your translation, and the video title that you worked on. You can email us at: [e-mail]
-------------------------------------------------------------
SPONSORS
-------------------------------------------------------------
We occasionally include paid sponsor messages/integrations in our videos to help fund the channel. We do our best to work with companies and organizations that offer products or services that are in line with our values, and that we think would be interesting and useful to our viewers.
We will always disclose if we’re promoting products that were given to us for free, or if we’re including a sponsored message in our video.
For business or sponsorship inquiries, please email us at [e-mail]
-------------------------------------------------------------
VIDEO CREDITS
-------------------------------------------------------------
Music & Song Credits:
All music in this video was composed, performed, and recorded by Mat of Exploring Alternatives.
Editing Credits:
Mat and Danielle of Exploring Alternatives
Filming Credits:
Mat and Danielle of Exploring Alternatives
Photo Credits:
Bryce and Kelly from Dreamweavers Collective
www.dreamweaverscollective.org/

[@ExploringAlternatives]

Check out more of Bryce's work on his website & on Instagram: www.dreamweaverscollective.org/ instagram.com/dreamweaverscollective/

[@sudhanshudubey9793]

does clay means any kind of soil or something else?

[@Stephen_Strange]

The site must be having problems, I guess the system hates it's popularity of all those like minded free thinkers out there that are an obvious threat to slavery.

[@ahmedakraby9839]

Fantastic

[@ahmedakraby9839]

Thank you brother I need more of this kind of construction help more people of my village Tanzania

[@queenelcene638]

@Delphinium Flower ain't that the truth...😡

[@holdshiftt2run308]

I am from Bangladesh, there is an area in Bangladesh called Bogra. In the countryside, there are mud houses that go up to three stories at times and they last for decades upon decades through the typhoons, flood and earthquakes. I am not from Bogra but where I am from there are mud houses too. They stay very cool during the summer. Same with mud mosques even though we have people crowding into them. The mud mosques in Mali are centuries old. Some are now about a 1,000 to 1,300 years old.

[@jnetwork7159]

Grow a garden on the roof, and you could have corn on the COB 🙃

[@nicholasbailey4524]

HAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAH

[@kaminigupta6249]

My grandmother lived in a cob house in a village in india. She used to grow vegetables on roof..spinach, corriander, Fenugreek etc.

[@DylanFowler]

🤣👌

[@ginamascetti8810]

Hahahaha

[@vincentrobinson9325]

HAHAHA HA👌

[@sdsfgsty]

That's true, cob houses are very strong. In my home country, Afghanistan, houses are mainly built from dirt. Even the flat roofs are made of clay and joist from tree trunks for support. It's bullet proof. Even if you hit it with mortar rounds, you can't completely demolish. In winter, when it snows, you go up the roof with your wooden snow shovel and clean the snow. We used to replace the top layer every time we noticed a leak in the ceiling. Top layer has more straw to make it more erosion resistant. So one layer could last a year or two depending on the amount of rain in a year.

[@PaulSchneider-bp2ic]

.

[@amiramarzouk4284]

Wow that’s amazing

[@burnyizland]

I'm sad that you know how it stands up to bullets and mortar.

[@Modelscoutingwd]

Hey! Thank you for letting us know about the rain and how much it can handle it. I readneveruwhere about cob but nobody took the risk to do the roof too, just ovens, they said ovens were handling the rain good. So thank you for letting us know and also that we can just change the top layer and do again.

[@jimrodda]

Here in Cornwall UK we have a lot of cob built cottages, some of the walls are 3ft deep, back in the early days they used cow dung and straw, but they are still standing to this day.

[@ritaranee4787]

In Nepal also

[@ryanalexander3088]

How long ago were they built?

[@SusanLynn656]

Cool!

[@SarahGreen523]

Wattle and daub! I thought this sounded familiar!

[@sainiamarjeet]

@@ryanalexander3088 as told in video 10000 old building also stand till now

[@Gryphyn3]

If I had known this stuff in my younger days, I would have been able to build my own home. I'm happy these types of videos are out there.

[@retroguardian4802]

3 part sand 1 part clay 1 part straw (any type of fiber-grass, hay etc)

[@enfelicidad3964]

Retro Guardian how about water? 🙂

[@Rockys-Mum]

Where do you find clay? Would regular soil works?

[@RubbinRobbin]

Rocky s Mum you sit under your site and normally you would find it unless it doesn’t have it

[@davidalearmonth]

By mass or by volume? And for the straw, compressed or not (if volume)?

[@sainiamarjeet]

@@Rockys-Mum yes and also instead of straw can use dry crop waste/residue or jute fiber or coir whichever is cheapest in ur area

[@devonseamoor]

Thank you for this valuable video. In the Netherlands, it's known to people with physical joint issues, and asthma, breathing issues, that living in an environment of cob, often helps to recover to good health again. There are homes, which are now changed inside, covered with cob, so that the resident can enjoy better health. I've worked with cob in Spain, in a small remote village, where a family man created a cob house on his vineyard, and worked with volunteers, in 2014. He used a small machine, like a plough, to break open the clay around the building plot, and we mixed the clay with straw and other ingredients, some sort of sand and fine chaff-like material as well. The three of us, two down at the heap of mixed clay, throwing clay balls up, worked on the walls, shaping a variety of rooms. The roof wasn't present, of course, that's always last, when building with cob, at least when you start from scratch. It was wonderful and fun, mixing the material, and to work with it to build up the walls. When dry, it was hard and sharp like glass. The climate was excellent, combined with the building material right there to be used, in that place. I've also helped cover walls of strawbale homes with clay, in Britain's communes living off-grid, and later, in the Netherlands, where gradually possibilities to build your own home just to your liking are developing. Empty stretches of land, or where glasshouses are removed due to old age, are chosen to be offered to self-builders who buy the plot, and are free to design and build their home. Of course, safety regulations and whatever is lawfully obliged, are meant to be obeyed. My experiences during visits to cob houses and strawbale homes are well remembered. The atmosphere and acoustics are fabulous. Feels so good!

[@mariellche3144]

now I want a cob home

[@JustinTopp]

Mariellche me too

[@DylanBegazo]

Why not make one?

[@Robert-nn5nm]

Same I love those Cob houses

[@christianarcos2722]

Same here. Dreaming about having a cob home with my future wife..

[@cageybee7221]

the the world seems to be going, we might very well end up having to build homes from clay and straw again.

[@rain-wanders]

I have been in love with Cobb building for forever now. It was the first "natural building" that I ever learned about as a teen, and I still have dreams of living in a cobb house some time in the future. Maybe out in Oregon would be awesome!

[@bridgets4864]

When I have enough saved for land I plan to explore low footprint housing options. Cob is both charming and practical. I am excited to build my first cob shelter. Amazing work!

[@ExploringAlternatives]

Cob is can definitely be a great sustainable low footprint option. Best of luck with getting your piece of land and with the future build 👍

[@theducklinghomesteadandgar6639]

Bridget S Where are you looking for land at? I Know where some prime land especially if you want off grid, but grid is available but not a requirement by law like some states are trying to enforce in the U.S. of course! It is going in parcels of around 35 acres give or take a few at less than 1000.00 USD an acre! Let me know if interested and I will tell you where! Also search here on yt "building with bottles" and check out the various builds. You can recycle a great number for one person in plastic bottles to keep them out of landfills but even more so out of our water ways especially the ocean! Basically you fill plastic bottles with sand or dirt and pack it in, then layer them just like one would brick! This Also Solves the problem of your foundation needing to be rock or broken up concrete or using cinder blocks because you simply use the bottles and use a much smaller amount of motor and concrete up as high as you need to make your boots for your old gal or old man of a house!! 😁 lol! And you can use the print forms to make the concrete look like rocks or do so with different types of tools or even your hands to make it appear as though it is rocks and then stain the different "rocks" to give it even more character and vwahlah your boots look like rocks and you save money and recycled bottles and saved a few sea animals and some fishies in all the water ways plus a few birds and small critters running around land fills getting caught in the singles bottles plastic loops used to keep bottles of pop, gatorade and all different kinds of drinks together in 6 packs, or 12packs and the like!!! And from there up you would use cob! And you can still shape in most any shape you want!! After you get your bottle to desired height you cover the bottle necks...most lay their necks all in the same direction! I think it is better to flip flop every other one the opostie direction and then one has bottle necks on both sides of the wall for two reasons. One it allows either fish net or chicken wire to be slid over the necks and act as an extra strength and an extra form to add an force the cob thru and around (like using chicken wire for stucco or concrete jobs where they use wire to create a form then cover it with concrete and smooth and shape it the wire gives something for the concrete to become attatched to and not sluff off or just be some shapeless nothing you can do nothing with) and allows it to be done on both sides fully instead of one side getting real thick cob and the other side not as much which isn't an issue but the addition can be an added bonus!!! And #2 It makes the walls thicker so more passive solar heating for winter time if needed. More sound proofing, it's heavier which means it will be harder for tornados, hurricanes and or tsunami to have a demolishing effect under normal circumstances the walls will still be standing unless you build a dome which would mean the structure should remin intact unless it is GOD's end times otherwise under regular roofing styles the roof might maybe come off depending on how you do that! If you do a living roof less chances of anything happening! The houses are fireproof, tornado resistant almost proof and earthquake resistant up to a 7 if memory serves me right an then it just starts minor damage maybe a wall showing a crack but the buildings still stand like the wall may have seperated for a moment and then realigned and fell back into place! Definitely fire proof! Depending on roof, do windows have wooden frames and if starts inside it will consume anything burnable and bake your home like a pottery kiln simply making it stronger in many ways!!!lol same if a fire outside, anything cob is just going to bake, one would only need to replace roof IF it was burnable, and any furniture and appliances if fire started inside, but you would still have your beautiful home, it will just need the soot removed unless you like it...lol!! Sorry I have gotten carried away and said so much but I am very very much in love with cob homes, fencing/walls, ovens, mass heaters, outdoor kitchens, sitting areas, with mass heaters heating the seating if its cold, all kinds of things, furniture, baths, showers and huge tubs for soaking in with many or one, and so much more! Basically if you can think it and/or dream you can build it!!! Age, size, abilities, disabilities, gender, money or lack of...none Of It Matters You Can Build It!!! Well you might need a peice of land! But where there is a will there is definitely a way for the LORD and your willingness to help yourself will make sure it happens! Have faith in the LORD ALMIGHTY and have faith in yourself and your faith!! If your faith is strong then so too will be the LORD's ability to help, because he can only help if you have faith in him and allow him to do so!! If you are prideful and think you do everything by yourself you are wrong!!! The LORD provides everything for us! The more we help ourselves the more he helps you and the better your faith in him the more he can work through you and make you powerful enough to move mountains, only its not your power its his! You had faith in him and let him take the lead basically possess your body and then he help you acheive the things that take him to help you, whether it is moving the car off of your Daddy or moving a mountain or getting up and giving that speech about GOD!!! We can do all things and the ones we think no way then GOD helps in those cases. That would be one of the times he carried you!!

[@christianudoa4512]

The Ducking Homestead and Gardens Can you email me, i am interested in buying land in the USA and you sound knowledgeable: [e-mail]. Kind regards, Christian

[@dramatriangle]

The Ducking Homestead and Gardens I'm interested in finding out more about this community you mentioned. Where is it located?

[@christal2641]

You may have to site your home outside of any towns, as building codes would probably be a barrier. Being in shallow well country and not close to commercial farms with all their pollutants would also be helpful.

[@tabiripetrovich517]

you need to go to Hungary there you can see a lot of cob houses. I've just been there and i was amazed - I suggest to visit the open-air museum of szentendre

[@SaintCoemgen]

As G Zeus already said, such old houses in Hungary are more mud than cob. Also, such houses need to be lived in. So many such rural houses you see in Hungary have creeping damp up the walls (look at the flaking plaster inside and outside near the foundation) because theses houses need to be lived in to move the moisture from the soil that creeps up the walls (they were not built with a water barrier in the walls). That is the moisture in the walls needs to be pulled out by having a warm space then vented to the outside. Such houses should not be air tight. They stay warm based on wall mass, not insulation. And one must vent the humidity. I live in a stone house in Hungary, which has similar problems as the material between the stones is just dirt, and the walls had considerable damage to the interior and exterior plaster because it was not lived in. It took two (2) years to dry out the walls before replastering. But living and heating the house all winter since then keeps the walls dry without problems.

[@everhappy6312]

Yes! Romania too. I grew up in a mud house like this on the border with Hungary. The house is probably 75 years old and its looking great.

[@FictionCautious]

We're just slowly catching up with the knowledge of our ancestors.

[@peterbelanger4094]

our ancestors were ignorant primitives that didn't bathe and thought evil spirits caused disease. FFS, give me a break.

[@ShesCoca]

@@peterbelanger4094 umm but they had way more sensible technologies in certain areas which we are starting to go back to.

[@djjones7039]

@@ShesCoca our ancestors didn't have technology lol

[@ShesCoca]

DJ Jones technology doesn’t mean electricity and wires m’love. Our modern day ‘technology’ includes that and so I get why you’d think that. To say our ancestors didn’t have technology is equal to saying they didn’t breathe air.

[@cornuschristi1814]

@@djjones7039 Yes they did. If you think they didn't, then you don't understand what technology actually means. Making basic tools, making basic weapons, starting a fire, constructing basic shelters, and basic agriculture are all technology.

[@theobserver6543]

In India, our ancestral homes in rural areas are made using similar materials. I guess it is more than 150 yrs old.

[@garimaarora1333]

Nope....thousands of years old ;)

[@peterbelanger4094]

Good for them, the climate there must be good for structures like that. Build one of these in many place sin the US, known for torrential rains and flooding, houses like this will be is erased. Not sure they would hold up to snow well either. And the insulation value probably isn't that great.

[@vinayyadav6574]

@@peterbelanger4094, true about rain, they wont survive

[@djjones7039]

@@garimaarora1333 I live in Seattle Washington here in the United States and it rains here in forks Washington more here than anywhere else in all of America. I don't think a cob home would last here very long

[@djjones7039]

@@vinayyadav6574 I live in Seattle Washington and it rains soooo much here. Cob definitely wouldn't work out here, right...?

[@Misterlikeseverythin]

Idk if it's genetic or does every man enjoys: 1. Planing and building stuff. 2. Going off to the forest. (Picking mushrooms, berries, hunting and fishing). 3. Eating food that you just harvested. 4. Sparring. 5. Learning how the universe works so you can plan and predict stuff (physics). It's just makes you feel something. Meanwhile 8 hours at a desk is torture.

[@PolarBear-rc4ks]

And women too! My dream is to build my own house and make a large garden with lots of trees- just need to save up enough!

[@Kayla-eq1hb]

@@PolarBear-rc4ks Same here! I'm planning of building my own tiny house in the future and living off the land- only now the house will be made from Cob.

[@breakingboardrooms1778]

I, a hu-man, love sparring!

[@recklessmermaid]

if you meant "man" in a gender neutral way, and I assume you do, I agree.

[@nollyfkennedy]

@James Parker same!

[@universaljustin420]

I've built a small room out of cob and earthbags by myself on my property which I'm happy with. If you are considering building with cob, keep in mind it is very labor intensive. You can imagine how much work went into that one batch he's making by hand, now imagine how many times you'll need to do that to make a house from it. Great way to build, but make sure you are up to getting dirty and doing a lot of work.

[@TenerifeHorseRescue]

we build with cob on a regular basis and couldn`t be more satisfied with its amazing features.

[@karenfleet2287]

Just in love with the round shapes,instead of square everything 🌻🌹🌻

[@TdotTwiFic]

My favourite cob homes by my favourite builder, Pat is wonderful. He taught me so much and showed me those homes. It was so nice to be in homes with shape and breath and delightful energy. Thanks.

[@michellefraser9790]

The internet needs more of you! Thank you from the west coast of Canada

[@glenncordova4027]

Adobe (Cob) has the advantage of thermal mass. It absorbs, stores and emits heat. This stabilizes the temperature of a building keeping it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Once it gets warm it stays warm and once it's cool it stays cool. In the Southwest it is often paired with passive solar heating.

[@MetalGearMk3]

You can put cob in a formwork to create straight walls, its call shuttered cob.

[@cageybee7221]

or wattle and cob....

[@beblissnow5947]

I was looking for SOMEONE that makes architecturally pleasing, high ceiling dome & straight smooth walls.

[@CryptoDad-iq9ww]

Currently residing on 50 acres completely off grid cob houses is going to be an amazing option for a permanent homestead, looking forward to starting this adventure & thank you for the very nice videos

[@roniyanalane1265]

I wish we can all come together and build these houses for the homeless and poor people ...as well as everyone

[@kwakubomani]

It's funny how people used to pick at indigenous people and now everyone copies their lifestyle trying to escape industrial living. The only sad part is the money people pay for a simple lifestyle. Great video and I wish the builder much success!

[@DylanBegazo]

kwakubomani you are right and that is why I do not insult indigenous people when I happen to come across them in my life. My family started off in a desert village in Peru and on the mountain side of one of the beach villages of Puerto Rico. They had simple ways of doing things and living but those simple ways I personally found to be very clever and smart and cheap compared to what I’ve experienced living in the city and suburbs. I am working and studying in the city so that I can return to many of the things I loved about the indigenous lifestyle while having more than enough money to travel and do other things. Building my own house being one of them. I hope the builder finished the building with great success too. 👌🏽

[@svetlanikolova7673]

I paid 7 k for my private mountain lifestyle! Does that sound like a lot to you?

[@PaulSchneider-bp2ic]

@@svetlanikolova7673 I wish you could tell us more.

[@svetlanikolova7673]

@@PaulSchneider-bp2ic I live in Bulgaria in a mountain village close to Svoge ! Nothing special but to me the place is more than a home! I bought a cob / lime house, plus 1/4 th acre . The taxes are about 18 dollars per year! I own 2 goats and do garden every year for 3 years! It was worth every penny! There are a lot of abondoned homes crying for new open minded owners in my neck of the woods literally!

[@moobsmcgee3554]

Indigenous people forgot how to make homes like this, look at how they live now.

[@zazugee]

when he said 3 parts sand, 1part clay, i knew this guy knows what he's talking about i did myself some compressive tests with clay-sand blocks and the ideal ratio is like 1:3 also adding straw really rise the tensile strength a lot one adobe brick could carry like 60kg on the 3 points test the material is almost perfect if it wasnt for the low water resistance but there are ways to protect it from heavy rainfalls and rising water tho

[@RichardBalonglongImages]

zazugee I’m curious about the cob’s water resistance. Will the cob easily become soft and might lose its strength when exposed to water like from heavy rainfalls? What are some common ways to make the cob water resistant? Thanks!

[@zazugee]

@@RichardBalonglongImages my experience is with adobe not much cob, but i assume they have same properties when it comes to water from my experience, light rainfalls isnt much of a problem but when you put adobe blocks in a water container, they start to lose their consistency rising water from foundation is also a problem but the same problems happens with cement when its not designed to resist it but on long term

[@cageybee7221]

@@RichardBalonglongImages well, if you shape it into bricks and fire it that tends to work rather nicely, you can also seal the walls with oil, wax, or even animal fats mixed with clay to keep the water off it.

[@doodoodoodle]

@@RichardBalonglongImages Based on my limited knowledge, I think people in wetter climates achieve it by (as stated) waterproofing the walls as much as possible, having a large roof overhang, as well as making sure that there is efficient drainage installed Ive seen some videos where some people use the water by collecting it or directing it somewhere (tanks, garden, etc)

[@jomten]

@@doodoodoodle *Flexseal guy enters the room*

[@yvesdoucet3137]

Brice you're a hero! People Like you contribute to saving the world!

[@tammyv5319]

Nice job Bryce! Thanks for spreading the word! Next time you're back in Bandon come see all the great cob structures we have built since you were here last. You'll love the lighthouse fresco! Or come down and stay awhile and help fresco the new Surf Shack!!! Keep up the great works....hugs from Oregon! Tammy

[@roodytabootie]

Thanks for sharing this. It was amazing to learn about cob structures and Bryce's story. :)

[@coreywiley3981]

Could we build quality small (not tiny) but small homes(600-1000-square feet) for homeless and low income people? It would be good if there was a program where people learned to build this way and traveled around building communities and villages for people.

[@ExploringAlternatives]

Yes, I'm sure you could and that would be a really great project! The challenges would probably be getting building permits and making sure everything is legal...finding appropriate land might also be a challenge. Maybe a pilot project somewhere could be a good starting point. Best of luck 😀

[@yaniepoo]

That’s somewhat what I am working on now!

[@jlsoldwood]

corey wiley I found a 69 acre property in mich to do it on .. it is a old quarry with massive boulders all over it and a leg at the center it is at water table level so it will never run out of water this whole property could become a cover greenhouse earthship cob building Sanctuary... there is also a piled up hillside that could become hobbit house.. n earthships

[@PaulSchneider-bp2ic]

@@jlsoldwood .

[@AlmostCouture]

Popeyes Pipe Dream Demo Salvage Consultation what part of Michigan?

[@caspenbee]

Cob combined with thatch would be really cool to see! Beautiful buildings. Thank you.

[@lydiarowe491]

Beautiful building with cob.. crafted by hand makes it magical...hope it takes more interested to be living in this type of house..always have loved the natural curves and elements to bring together these houses..thanks for this one..

[@misterman2442]

I am going to build something out of my winter holidays this time .Thank you so much for sharing your ideas with us .

[@oliverknevitt3313]

Cob is amazing stuff. I remember on Grand Designs (the house building tv programme in the UK) an expert cob builder built a multi story mansion out of cob! Must be somewhere in the west country, the only part of the UK where cob houses exist

[@stepher81]

We are in the process of searching out our dream property. We are very inspired by your video and we completely agree with your thoughts on environmental effects of materials. We also love the idea of the work, hands, feet and heart that goes into the beauty of this type of living.

[@KackJack45]

I promise this knowledge will save many lives to come in the future once people see how less it take not to just survive but be happy cobb building will be an essential business.

[@robinlynn6940]

Beautiful. 💖 I wish trailer houses and most of the modern houses where a thing of the past - seen for what they are - poisonous, toxic temporary soon to be an additional pollutant to our precious ground water, rivers, lakes, oceans and already insane landfill problems.

[@pamelabourque3869]

I'm 53 and have been unable to work most of my life. Wondering how I will ever be able to not be homeless, to no have to live in a nursing home- you get the idea. All I need now is land!

[@johnzimmerman3189]

Pamela Bourque why couldn't you work? And are you in the USA ?

[@lovely-mk4rt]

John Zimmerman This channel has no content

[@sonofhibbs4425]

If you’re unable to work, how are you going to build a house like this?

[@jeffreyraia]

I'm so inspired by your video. I'm definitely going to pursue building a Cobb house. Thanks for sharing.

[@muschio7]

Loved that Video ❤️ Beautiful work. I exspierenced myself how much of work it requires, you cannot really do it alone, so it brings people together. And you are left with beautiful creation memories 🌿

[@fuzibunny]

Thank you for posting about cob building! I’d love to see more videos of how people are inspired to build with more natural materials.

[@chezmoi42]

Have you seen this one? I found it quite inspiring. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ip7GdoJ6aNR-jZI

[@jordiegundersen1465]

You are a perfect example of a good human being. Anyone who knocks Americans should see your beautiful and sensible nature. Come down under to Aussie with your cob craft. :)

[@chrissturgeon1571]

He's Canadian. But, yeah. Cheers, mate!

[@hmpz36911]

You want him to cob your face

[@jeffharris7777]

Good people are good people, no matter where they live.

[@edenjoywholefoods6640]

This is marvellous...we must return to the ancient ways to do things and have some pride and personality in doing it. I love your project.

[@brwngurledition6610]

WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU❤️

[@olenaberest2454]

in Ukrainian villages you can still find lots of houses made of saman - sun-dryed bricks made of clay, straw and sand, especially in the South, where wood was not that accessible. I used to live in my grandma's house with saman walls and stove heating, the perfect house - warm in winter and cool in summer.

[@reckoning3706]

Awesome video.. very professional quality .. I do not understand why great videos such as this are not shown on TV .. and why mostly rubbish shown on TV. Love your work.

[@TheWritingGirl]

Pluto has them, as well as others, free, it streaming, you can do it online too if you don't have a streaming device

[@carlajordon4540]

My grandma mama mama had this material that building homes in the Caribbean centuries or decades ago ,,,and some of these homes are still standing so you're right they will outlive generation and generations to come

[@Victor-oo4ux]

Thank you for posting content that ain't garbage. ;D Please keep it going!

[@donaldjohnson3265]

This is the way to go. I love it.

[@captaindangler1675]

I love this and wish it could be found more readily around the USA. The house that I grew up in was in my stepfather’s family since the early 1900’s (like 1901 ish). It is literally falling apart. We’ve done some upgrades to it but the whole thing is slowly rotting away. It should have been demolished years ago and built new. 118 years old and on its last legs yet these cob structures have been standing in other parts of the world for hundreds if not thousands of years. I’m sure greed plays into a lot of this as I don’t see these cob structures being all that large. A sign of wealth is a massive house and it’s probably easier to use conventional building materials.

[@aarondetmer946]

Massive house is greed, I'm with you there. But this style of building is costly in man hours compared to stud wall construction. Also it is very poor thermal insulation so the HVAC systems would be just wasting energy left and right. And lastly, it lacks in seismic restraining. Sorry, it just is not a good choice in most regions.

[@barnanamukherjee3470]

What a wonderful video. It enlightened in various ways. Thank you for the post.

[@DonTheConPrison2024]

I love the creativity in this cob home. Nice work! ❤️

[@BC-jb7mz]

I’ve wanted a cob home for a while now. I will someday build my own cob home.! They are so beautiful, natural, and sturdy. They seem soooo much better for the environment and are built stronger than any “new” house. I wish the government (or people in general) would catch on to the pros of these as houses. Maybe they will catch on 😁

[@aarondetmer946]

Yes and no. They are very poor thermal insulators. The more solid/dense the material, the easier heat transfer occurs. They would be decent in warm arid climates. But regions that are moist and have both hot and cold temps... It would have horrible energy performance.

[@fabuloso7176]

In my book this man is honorable

[@dawidczerniak5177]

I absolutely love this... it makes me emotional. Just imagine cities build like that...

[@jessicaneidlinger6353]

I'm in love with cob houses!!!

[@TrevorMarty69]

I would love to learn more about that.

[@paulduffey7975]

Is that mix by volume, weight, or ?? I have hopes of trying this in the future. Thank you.

[@AlpeshPatelAK]

In my country India our village ancestral homes were made by the same technique. I think this technique is thousands years old. This is really a harmony with nature.

[@patelparth8246]

You are absolutely right........

[@nikkilyne36]

I have never heard of cob before.but now I wanna make a cob home!!!!

[@ShikokuFoodForest]

Is cob suitable for building a 400~500 sf cabin in colder, often wetter climates such as in northern parts of Canada? I’ve been studying conventional construction and building science extensively, but now am seriously considering building using natural materials. How would you recommend learning cob construction to do myself?

[@kevindouglas2060]

I know you want to keep it natural but I think you could allow yourself to use a roto tiller to make your mix. I read years ago that's what they do in parts of the world where this type of construction is still common.

[@patonmayne]

I found a Bobcat works the best, quickest and cheapest.

[@zulemaflores8796]

This is AWESOME. I may use cobb to build my home. Thank you!

[@ManWander]

i wish the video had contained info on maintenance of a cob house - this seems like a great idea and of course time has proven it works

[@ahamilton3435]

Arabs, Africans (North, Southern, West, East) and South Asians have been doing this for thousands of years till this day🤗🤗

[@roshnipal3583]

As well as indian subcontinent 🤗🤗

[@ItsmeSammieSee]

So have Europeans and South Americans. This is not isolated to one region of the world. The Pueblo native American tribe still has there Adobe structures in the American southwest and northern Mexico.

[@JohnSmith-qq8tx]

adee ha I KNEW I'd find a bs comment like this. Yeah, we European's were just living in caves right!?

[@kelleymariejones6388]

adee ha Egyptians as well, if not tent dwellers in Abraham’s day, they lived in the caves and cob dwelling!

[@kelleymariejones6388]

John Smith yeah well John Smith be signing his fake name at no tell motels for years!😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@CoastLife]

Love the work and videos you guys are putting out. Top notch!

[@ExploringAlternatives]

Thanks so much for the positive feedback😀😀👍

[@LiborGabrhel]

Cob is such an amazing material! Great video!

[@lightzout7239]

His information is awesome. Go back to basics. Grand Master cob builder. Right on.

[@Asiablue]

Bryce should pay a long visit to Puerto Rico.

[@stefanflorinf]

Cob is great but it needs a lot of work to maintain, if not repaired every 7-10 years it chips , warps etc. And if not perfectly isolated it will melt . Best regards

[@hortondlfn1994]

What do you mean by "perfectly isolated"? Can cob houses not be built near other types of houses?

[@willg4802]

HORTONDLFN isolated from the ground with a rock foundation. Isolated from the rain with a large roof overhang.

[@willg4802]

Modern houses need even more maintenance. Painting for one.

[@ge3029]

What about vinyl siding cracking from sun exposure and getting holes from hail? Ice and snow wrecks concrete parging. UV wrecks all manners of coverings. That's been my experience. In South Africa, walls made out of clay and wattle with a lime plaster on the outside have lasted 350+years so far in that heavy sun environment and extreme weather conditions (called the cape of storms for a reason)

[@aarondetmer946]

Let's not forget how horrible the insulation value of this structure is. Even if it is "stronger", it will be very wasteful for the HVAC system. Also, it doesn't do well with seismic restraining.

[@rosalvachora9603]

Yo soy de la CDMX y los felicito por sus grandes obras de arte en sus hermosas casas son facinantes saludos

[@tomseer7462]

Thanks for sharing great job one day in the future I hope to get my hands muddy in the cob building of my own home once again thank you

[@wildebtw]

I love cob. Can someone tell me if it can be used in homes that go through -40C winters?

[@riikolisa7027]

That's what I was wondering, too.

[@armithel3133]

wildebtw cob is not recommended for colder climates. Check out straw bale structures!

[@365techtips]

wildebtw I believe cob can be used in very cold climates, the issue is that it is not a very thermally insulating material. The thermal mass of cob however, in combination with solar gain can make winters very pleasant and warm in UK climates. Much colder climates would likely need a different design.

[@kc-km8du]

Is it hard to get permits for these types of buildings?

[@cornuschristi1814]

Yes. Many municipalities will give you trouble with permits for cob construction because they aren't familiar with the properties of the material.

[@LakeofCrystalclan]

@@cornuschristi1814 Which is exactly the case, because some of the dumbasses in the comments think that the governments think that its "A tHrEaT tO sLaVeRy" Boi. Slavery was made illegal in the United States in 1865.

[@cageybee7221]

@@LakeofCrystalclan unless you are in prison.

[@Mr.Deleterious]

Love your channel. Thanks for the insight to living the simpler life. Think ill start soon.

[@teresitapalazobardel4152]

This has been my Dream since i was still a small kid. In rèalizing this dream; i have to wait till my Pension so i would be free from all my Burden. I am so grateful that i have found your Post and ýoür Program. Thank you and more Power.

[@Niekoue]

Don't wait, life is now

[@jocelynelangis777]

Absolument fantastique ce matériel. A bit like some of the Gaudi architecture with this organic round shape and this guy really know what he is talking about. My concern is just how would this beautiful house will react in winter in Canada? Very interesting. Thanks!

[@ExploringAlternatives]

Merci Jocelyne 😀. This material is apparently great even for our harsh Canadian winters. It provides great insulation and thermal mass. I think that if build properly it would definitely be more efficient than most standard conventional homes. Thanks for watching 👍

[@Magdalene777]

If it's fire proof this might be a good material for people in California and along the west coast to explore, where there is a risk of forest fires.

[@peterbelanger4094]

Until the torrential rains, which California is also known for, melt this house made of mud.

[@vinayyadav6574]

California has high rainfall.

[@sgtkort97]

Don't forget earthquakes

[@Goddessdawn68]

My dream home would be a cob cottage. Great video. Thank you.

[@RadioRoxx.FM_90.1FM]

It is all pure and natural way witch was taken from us. I am happy to see people taking unconventional ways back to nature

[@dancingintherainstor]

..... His feet must be so smooth. Random thought.

[@TheWritingGirl]

I thought the same thing, Ohhh his hands and feet , daily spa

[@peggyprose]

Or reeeaally dry!!😱

[@kmw4359]

@@peggyprose more likely

[@imaacehole9577]

I came here looking for a house made out of corn.

[@hortondlfn1994]

LOL! So did I!

[@margitavajda4004]

Of corn shell? How that looks?

[@margitavajda4004]

How did maked?

[@roxyroxieroxann]

Hahaha that's funny lol

[@hmpz36911]

Tryin to pop a house?

[@snowmcsnow4732]

Love Tudor, I might go that direction next. Great video! Would love to see more!

[@hashighosh5989]

I am so happy to get to know about mud house.

[@greenspiraldragon]

The build process is slow - up to 15 months to allow phases to dry. After completion it can take several months for building to finish shrinking.

[@ThisIsReMarkable]

Awesome video! Bryce seems like an interesting person and a knowledgeable one as well. I'm curious about how building inspectors and architects treat this material. By the way he described it and from what I know of regulations, it seems like it would be hard to actually put up a structure, especially approaching a city/town. That said, it looks like he was making cob on a street, not on a farm or the like. Anyone have any ideas or insight? Thanks!

[@williamiannucci2740]

I am very proud of this young fellow. 👍

[@r.n.holmes5625]

I love neutral building technique so much potential for such amazing things

[@corvuscrow5485]

what about humidity, vapor barriers, mold, etc.?? (anyone)

[@brouwerification]

Cob self regulates moisture. No vapor barrier needed. Mold resistant as well. Im Actually looking at hempcrete. Also same properties but some nuances

[@corvuscrow5485]

Thanks for the info. and now to research "hempcrete"... :>)

[@Well_possibly]

@Corvus Crow, it seems there are some good books on building with cob. If you do build one, maybe get a book on it and take a hands-on course, too. About moisture, maybe you can find a place with a similar climate to yours and see how it's going for their cob homes. Per other videos, you want your foundation to keep the cob somewhat high off the ground, so rain water or an overflowing creek doesn't damage the cob. Of course you want your roof to have a good overhang all around the home so rain or hail doesn't beat down on int. If you build, I hope it works out great for you!

[@corvuscrow5485]

Well possibly- Awesome! Thanks!👍

[@aarondetmer946]

It doesn't "self regulate". It has exterior infiltration just like concrete and masonry does. Which means air can bring in moisture.

[@spoocyguy]

"3rd generation cobber" is a bit of a disingenuous way to say Bob taught Larry and Larry taught me, lol...none the less, dude is cool and I loved the video!

[@thomas-w8948]

I don't know the context to be honest but i think he said something closer to "Learnt from someone that learnt from them" referring to some company that makes natural housing i think. So tecnicly he could be saying that he learnt indirectly from the ones before him... I annoyed even myself by making that comment btw.

[@TheRealMonnie]

Where I'm from (Michigan) "3rd generation cobber" would mean his father and his grandfather were both cobbers. I wouldn't think it means anything else.

[@doumardose9785]

At 3 weeks a course that may have taken a whole 9 weeks

[@LitoGeorge]

@@TheRealMonnie Not just Michigan, but anywhere in the world that speaks English as a language. You're all right, but who cares? Does it make a difference? Lets judge the quality of the work, not the statement. One day if any of us meet him, we can rib him for his poor language use (unless he genuinely has the family cobbing history!)

[@carolleeloodiva2071]

There are Cobb buildings in the UK that have been around for many, many centuries, but the oldest known cob structure is over 10,000 years old. It is still standing because it has been looked after by generations of people. Like all structures, cob buildings need care and attention from time to time. Simple checking for erosion and repairing damage before it becomes a problem is key to the longevity of cob buildings. A fresh coat of lime wash to renew the weatherproofing and protection every so often will extend the life of the cob as well. Oddly enough I was part of the crew that worked on many of the Cobb buildings in this video. I took several Cobb building workshops with Patrick Hennebery and his cobworks crew!

[@danilaangileri5099]

Thank you for continuing to inspire us. 🙏💖

[@nurfacealways]

I learned about hay in mud when reading Exodus

[@nurfacealways]

@PACKO Abdul KADIR Exodus Pharaoh tells his slave watcher to not get the hay for them.vthe Hebrews get it themselves

[@ThyBookie]

Someone get Primitive Technology on this

[@nikolaimanek6629]

I LOVE it! Thank you for doing this work!

[@trinahill4683]

Thank you Bryce...

[@girlonfire2.076]

i dont understand why all houses arent built this way

[@idroolt6999]

Less money to be made by the ruling class. I'm planning on buying some rural land and building small getaway cottages for couples to rent. In my area you can more or less do what you want on your own property as long as it's not in city limits. :)

[@JesusisLordandHealone]

@@idroolt6999 what area is that? I've been looking for reasonably priced land in areas that have little to no CCR's or restrictions. Thanks in advance for your help!

[@jameshumphrey9939]

wrong !

[@helenesvlogs8893]

In the past in Romania the houses were built în that way .

[@artdude2823]

Greed!

[@naomireid9584]

I am very proud that someone finally start building the way our Creator taught humans. I will be happy when humans learn the ability use bricks and stones to build dwelling for humans to live in.

[@mickeybowmeister1944]

Our so call 'creator' also enabled us to build thermonuclear bombs that have enough power to ensure mutual self destruction.

[@melaniavzla6773]

I am actually contemplating the idea of building my home like this

[@XX-gy7ue]

these buildings are absolutely beautiful